


Lovebirds

by Treekianthia



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms
Genre: (I honestly have no good tags for this), F/M, Fireside Date, Fluff, Spoilers, headcanons galore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 19:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18452672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treekianthia/pseuds/Treekianthia
Summary: After their double-date, two couples go their separate ways. While one couple goes to stay in the inn for the night, another returns home after an unfortunate run in with a wild animal. Both couples, however, find themselves sitting by the fire and discussing events that transpired. First chapter is Yewnolia, second is Rindea.





	1. The Princess and the Falcon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Komatsu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Komatsu/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Ruffled Feathers](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13222641) by [Komatsu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Komatsu/pseuds/Komatsu). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their evening out with Ringabel and Edea, Yew and Magnolia decide to stay at an inn for the night. Now that they have some time alone, Yew wonders if he should try out some of the advice Ringabel had given him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following fic was originally posted to outside sources on 06/04/18. It is being posted here for archival purposes and to help document my progress as a writer.

Yew and Magnolia decided to stay at an inn that night. **  
**

By the time they left the theater, the lamps lining Eternia’s streets had been lit, and a fresh layer of snow had begun to fall. The ground was already covered in a thick, white frost, and with the snow only growing deeper, the trek back to Gathelatio would be dangerous, especially during the current hour. Edea and Ringabel, who had joined Yew and Magnolia for the evening, were about to return to central command and had offered to let them stay the night, but Yew had politely declined. Though Yew had wanted to continue the conversation he and Ringabel had been having a few minutes prior, he knew that Edea and Ringabel had plans for the rest of the night and didn’t want to intrude. Magnolia, meanwhile, didn’t seem to want to make the walk to the military fortress, as she let out a small sigh of relief when Yew turned the offer down; she was probably tired from everything that had happened that evening.

Though Edea then offered to get the two a free room in the city’s nicest hotel, Yew declined that offer as well in favor of going with a small inn near the city’s entrance. He wasn’t a fan of large, fancy hotels, and Magnolia preferred smaller quarters compared to more open lodging. Something about growing up in a home with dozens of empty halls and rooms that left a dreariness in the back of her mind- she had only really mentioned it to Yew a few times prior; not enough for him to know all the details. He did, however, know enough about her to know what kind of room she’d be most comfortable staying in. Once they were checked in to the inn, Yew took the key from the front attendant and led Magnolia to where they’d be staying.

Yew had chosen a room with a fireplace, and a bed that was wide enough for Magnolia to sprawl out on while leaving just enough room for him to curl up next to her. The curtains were open despite any outside light being barely visible, and the room itself was illuminated by a few lanterns attached to the wall. Two armchairs were placed near the fireplace, and bookshelves filled with musty, well-read books were placed just out of reach of the fire. Under the easternmost window sat a desk covered in ink bottles and wax seals for letters, and a neat stack of papers and envelopes were tucked into a shelf attached underneath. It was a room meant for a guest who planned to stay longer than one night, but it was suitable enough for their short stay.

As Yew placed his feathered cloak on the coat rack by the door, Magnolia threw herself onto the bed. Kicking off her heels and pushing them off the edge with her foot, she buried her face into one of the many pillows and sighed.

“Ah la vache…” Magnolia mumbled into the pillow. “What a night this was…”

“Are you alright, Kaguya?” Yew asked as he went to place a log in the fireplace. He was still getting used to calling Magnolia by her real name when they were alone, but he knew she preferred it. Sighing again, Magnolia sat back up and stretched her arms.

“I’m just a bit tired,” she said before crossing her legs and putting her hands in her lap. “I wasn’t expecting to be out as late as we were, but you and Monsieur Ringabel ended up having that awfully long chat of yours.”

Yew felt his ears turn pink. “O-oh, sorry about that…” he stuttered as he glanced over at his cloak. Inside an inner-lined pocket sat a small journal he normally filled with work related notes, but tonight it had been filled with different notes entirely. “W-we were just… Talking about important business is all!”

Magnolia laid down on her stomach and watched as Yew struggled to cast a fire spell on the log through his embarrassment. “What kind of important business was it?” she asked as she placed a hand underneath her chin. Yew could tell she was curious, but he knew he couldn’t tell her what the chat had been about. He’d feel too ashamed of himself.

He decided to lie. “O-oh, um! Important military budget numbers and stuff like that! Sir Ringabel couldn’t do the math, so he asked me to do it!” Yew tried to convince her.  _Who was he kidding though?_  That was a terrible lie! Even with all of his six star achievements, Yew knew Ringabel was far better at math than he was!

Luckily for Yew, Magnolia didn’t seem to question it. Instead, she crossed her arms and placed her chin down where they met. “Perhaps for this upcoming Solstice Night, we should get him a calculator,” she said with a smile. “You should do some snooping and see if he already owns one!”

Yew wasn’t sure if Magnolia was serious or joking, but it didn’t sound like a bad idea either way. “That might be a good idea, though Solstice Night is still a few months away,” he said as he finally got the fire started. It was nice to finally start warming up, and looking back, he could see Magnolia was making herself comfortable on the bed.

“He and Edea looked lovely tonight, didn’t they?” she asked Yew, almost dreamily so. “It was almost as if they were trying to emulate the style of that one bird species native to Florem! Pea… Something, was it?”

“ _Pavo cristatus_ ,” Yew interrupted. “Erm, Peafowl in more common terms. They’re native to both Florem and parts of the Eisen region, but they’re far more common in Florem’s flower gardens,” he finished explaining. Magnolia stared at him for a moment, but this was quickly followed by a laugh.

“ _Incroyable, Yew!_  I should expect a man such as yourself would know all about such a thing!” she said before smiling. Yew felt his cheeks turn red and placed his hands over them. Even if the two had been together for some time now, he was still easily flustered by her compliments.

“I-it was nothing!” he squeaked before covering his face entirely. He could hear Magnolia giggling at his embarrassment, and his face turned a shade darker. If Yew was lucky, the notes he had taken would help prevent this in the future.

Most of the notes that Yew had taken were about potential date night ideas that Ringabel had mentioned. As Ringabel couldn’t be sure what kind of things Magnolia liked, he had given Yew a variety of choices that he could sort through later. Most of them were simple, such as taking a walk through the gardens, or going shopping together, while others were more expensive, such as taking a day trip to Yunohana or having an expensive dinner in Florem. There were even a few things Ringabel had mentioned that Yew was too flustered to think about, and he scratched out any he had written down as part of his note taking habit.

“Do you think the two of them have made it back to Central Command yet?” Magnolia asked as she turned her head towards one of the windows. “With how dark it is, it’s probably very dangerous out there right now.”

Yew turned his gaze towards the window as well, though he was unable to see anything outside, minus a few street lamps glowing softly. “It’s a long trip, so I don’t think they’ve made it back just yet, but Lady Edea and Sir Ringabel can easily take care of themselves if something happens,” he mentioned. He was admittedly a bit worried for the two, especially since it was snow bear season, but he was certain they’d make it back one way or another. Besides, the two of them seemed extremely enthusiastic about making it home for their date by the fire. He didn’t think they’d let much get in the way of that.

Exhaling softly, Magnolia closed her eyes. “A date by the fire sounds nice…” she mentioned, each word quieter than the last. Yew felt his face heat up again and he stumbled up to his feet.

“W-why don’t you join me by the fire!?” he asked, almost frantically, as he gestured towards the flames. “T-there’s extra blankets we can use, a-and some books we can read!” Ringabel had suggested Yew and Magnolia try a fireside date as well, and there was no better time than the present.

Opening her eyes, Magnolia perked up. “I would like that…” she said before sitting up. Yew noticed part of her dress was slipping down, and he quickly rushed over to put it back into place.  _Just so it doesn’t get messed up_ , he told himself. He knew for certain Magnolia really liked this dress; it looked good on her.

“Perhaps we should ask if they have any extra sleeping wear here that we can borrow,” he suggested, “So you don’t mess up your dress from sleeping in it.”

Magnolia tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t planning on sleeping in it, Yew,” she told him. “I didn’t think it would be a problem, and it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve seen me-“

“I j-just think it’s too cold right now!” Yew interrupted with a quick stutter. “Gathelatio is a lot warmer than the capitol city, and even with a fire, you could still get cold here!” While he was technically telling the truth, part of him also knew it was because of some of the notes he had taken earlier. Specifically the ones he had scratched out.

Magnolia shivered a bit. “Perhaps you’re right,” she admitted. “I may have… Slightly underestimated how cold it was going to be here.”

Slightly might have been a bit of an understatement. Yew had to give her his cloak twice earlier in the day, and at one point he didn’t think he was going to get it back. While the first time had been right before dinner, the second had been near the of the play, while Ringabel and Edea were off talking somewhere. He still had the image of her sobbing into the feathered trim in the back of his mind, almost trembling as the final scene played out. Much to his relief though, she gave it back to him as the play ended, and he was able to go back to keeping himself warm.

“I’ll be right back, then!” Yew told her as he headed towards the door. Grabbing his cloak for good measure, Yew went to see guest services. He didn’t mind Magnolia borrowing it, especially since she made it smell like flowers, but he didn’t want the surprise of coming back and finding her wearing nothing  _but_  his cloak. He’d probably faint from shock, and knowing her, she’d get some enjoyment out of it.

After about twenty minutes of rummaging around, the young teen working at guest services managed to produce a nightgown for Magnolia and some somewhat oversized night wear for Yew. When he returned to the room, he found Magnolia bundled up in a blanket and sitting on one of the fireside seats. She had a book in her hand, and…  _Was she wearing his glasses???_

Yew cleared his throat. “I’m back, Kaguya,” he announced as he took his cloak back off. Magnolia looked up and waved, but her attention immediately went back to her book.

“I found the most wonderful book of stories,” she mentioned as she flipped a page. “It’s filled with so many legends from around Luxendarc! I never knew you had such a collection!”

Going over to the bed, Yew placed the clothing he had received down. “Well with five continents and a couple thousand years, you tend to get a few stories here and there,” he said as he began to change. “I have a ten volume collection in the library back home if you’re interested.”

Magnolia gasped. “Oh, can I?” she asked him, almost whimsically so. With how she had reacted to the play, it shouldn’t have surprised Yew that she had such an interest. Maybe there would be a few other stories she recognized too.

“Of course! As soon as we get back home, I’ll have Alfred bring the first volume to our room,” he promised. He had been meaning to reread a few of them himself, so he wouldn’t mind having the volumes scattered around the manor.

Once Yew had finished changing, he sat in the chair opposite of Magnolia. His clothes were a bit baggy, but they were definitely warm enough to get him through the night. Magnolia, meanwhile, was entranced by the book in her hands. She hadn’t even noticed Yew changing, or realized he now sat across from her. Instead, her eyes were locked firmly on the pages as she absorbed everything they had to tell her.

Eventually, Magnolia let out a happy sigh and closed the book. “What beautiful writing,” she said as she closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. “Even the saddest of legends become bearable.”

“I’m taking you enjoyed them then?” Yew asked as he tried to take a glance at the book's cover. It was far too faded to make anything out, and the author’s name was scratched out beyond recognition. He wondered how long the book had been there.

Magnolia placed the book down on the chair’s armrest and took off Yew’s glasses. “They were  _magnifique_! A much larger variety than what we have on the moon,” she told him. “I can’t wait to see what else the legends of Luxendarc have to offer!”

Yew smiled. “As soon as we get home, you’ll have as much time as you’d like to read up on them,” he reminded her. “For now though, don’t we have our own date next to the fire,  _mon chérie_?” He wasn’t used to using pet names, but Ringabel had suggested he try it. It seemed to work, as Magnolia began to giggle.

“ _Oui, mon coeur_!” she said as she got up. Yew watched her as she gracefully waltzed over to the bed to change, but as soon as Magnolia grabbed the nightgown, Yew got up and grabbed the blanket she had left along with a few extras. By the time that she was dressed in the thick, flowing garb, Yew had managed to make a nest of blankets for them and awaited for her to join him.

“Are you comfortable?” Yew asked as Magnolia sat down next to him, wrapping the blanket over her as she did so. Taking a light hold of his arm, Magnolia rested her head against his shoulder.

“Oh, Yew… You know I’m always comfortable when I’m around you,” she told him with a loving tone. Yew tried to keep his face from once again turning a deep shade of red, but something about the way Magnolia sounded made that impossible. Glancing over at his cloak once more, Yew took a good look at his journal as it peaked out of the inner pocket. He wondered if Ringabel knew something like this would happen.

“A-ah… S-so what legends did you read?” Yew asked with a stutter. He liked being close to Magnolia, but right now it was a bit nerve wracking. He thought if he could change the subject to something he was comfortable with, it would distract him from his constant embarrassment.

Magnolia placed a finger on her cheek and began to ponder the question. “Let’s see… I read one about an Eternian man who married a woman from the snow, and another about an ancient Harenian princess whose brothers were turned into crows. Then there was one about a fish who transformed into a beautiful bird in Florem, and a legend about an old Caldisan King living in a mountainside!” she explained enthusiastically. Smiling slightly, Yew gazed at the fire in front of them. The flames were still burning strong, and the heat was nice as the room grew colder.

“I’ve read all of those at some point,” he mentioned to his fiancée. “The one about the Harenian princess is captivating, and the knight from the King in the Mountainside was my hero as a child!”

“But your favorite legend is the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, is it not?” Magnolia interrupted before Yew could say more. Yew jerked back a bit, surprised by the sudden question, and Magnolia had to sit herself up. He hadn’t reacted that way because it was a bad question, but because of the context behind it. There had been a discussion about this before.

“Ah yes, it… It is, but I know you don’t like Luxendarc’s version,” Yew mentioned. He remembered the first conversation they had about it, and how Magnolia hated the way the princess had been described.

“Hair as black as the night sky, and eyes as green as the bamboo she came from.”

Yew swallowed nervously. He was surprised that Magnolia had memorized that. “But I know that isn’t true now!” he reminded her. “You told me that only a princess like yourself would ever be given the name Kaguya.” At the time, she had really stressed that princesses born with albinism were worthy of the family name, and describing the princess in any other way was an insult. He wondered if she’d go off about it again.

To Yew’s surprise, however, Magnolia began to smile. “As long as you know the truth behind my ancestor’s story, then I have no reason to complain,” she told him. “Your version is honestly so much happier than the moon’s… Even if your description is wrong.”

Laughing, Yew cocked his head back a bit. “Then I’ll make sure from now on that the princess is only described as having hair as white as the moon and eyes as red as the most beautiful rose,” he promised before looking at her. He saw her cheeks turning pink, and it seemed he had taken her off guard.

“You sound like Monsieur Ringabel when you talk like that!” she told him. “It’s almost as if you’ve been taking lessons from him!”

Yew tried his best to hide any reaction to that comment and tensed up. “N-no, I haven’t!” he quickly lied. “Sir Ringabel… Has probably just rubbed off on me a bit, with him being my boss and all!”

Magnolia, unconvinced by Yew’s lie, began squinting. “Now that I think about it, you and Monsieur Ringabel spent an awfully long time talking tonight…” she pointed out to him. Yew felt his pulse quickening, and he really wanted off the subject fast. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Magnolia he went to Ringabel for a bit of romantic advice. Okay, it hadn’t been a bit,  _it had been a lot._

“S-so what’s your favorite legend???” Yew suddenly asked to change the subject. “You know mine, so I should know yours too!”

Magnolia blinked a few times, and then very slowly returned to her position of holding Yew’s arm and resting her head on his shoulder. “ _My_  favorite legend?” she repeated back to him. “The moon has quite a few, but they all end so similarly. It’s as if nobody wants a happy ending.”

“Well, Altair and Vega’s story ended happily, didn’t it? They can’t be all bad,” Yew pointed out to her. He still wasn’t over the initial shock of Altair and Vega’s story becoming known through different means, and he wasn’t too certain what to do with this information. Magnolia, meanwhile, let out a long sigh.

“The Star Festival… Even if they still got to see each other in the end, it was still so tragic!” she reminded him. Yew realized he should have been more aware of this, especially since Magnolia had soiled his handkerchief before moving to sobbing in his cloak, and felt a bit stupid. He guessed he had been so distracted by Ringabel’s outburst, he had forgotten everything that had happened from before the two celestials reunited.

“But they  _did_  get their happy ending,” he reiterated. “It just took them some time and a bit of extra help.” This was true in both the sense of the story and reality. The celestials in the story needed the magpies, and the celestials in reality needed Yew and his friends. Magnolia, however, shook her head in disagreement.

“It’s not about whether or not they got their happy ending!” she told him with a slightly raised voice. At the moment, he noticed she was starting to cry and was biting her lip in frustration. Oh no… Did he cause this?

“Then… What is it about?” Yew asked hesitantly. He didn’t want to set Magnolia off anymore, but he couldn’t sit around not knowing what was bothering her either. Magnolia inhaled sharply.

“It’s about the reason they were seperated in the first place!”

…that’s when Yew finally understood what was going on. There was something that Magnolia had said during the play that he had paid only a little attention to earlier, which he now knew actually meant more than he had realized at the time. He had been so busy trying to calm her down, he hadn’t taken the time to figure out why she was so upset in the first place.

_It’s just so sad. To be kept from the one you love by others. By your own society. Your family._

At the time, he thought she had been crying because the play had been bittersweet. A sad tale of two lovers separated by fate; it had even made him a bit emotion. While this may have been the case when she first began to cry, it was no longer the case here. The reason she was crying wasn’t because the play was sad…

It was because she and him were going through the same thing.

Magnolia had run away from her home when she was 18 and joined the ranks of the military in secret, but years later when she and Yew got engaged, she decided to reconnect with what remained of her family, the Lunar  _Royal_  Family. She had hoped at the time they would approve of her choices, but as soon as she revealed Yew was a man from Luxendarc, they showed heavy disapproval. They had said that such a marriage could never happen, and any children they had would be tainted and unwelcome. If Magnolia really wanted to do such a thing, they would have to confine her back in her home on the moon to prevent it from happening. Devastated and broken by this revelation, Magnolia once again ran away from her home, erasing all traces of herself so she couldn’t be followed.

The two of them had been living this way for a year now. Any communication Magnolia had with the moon was done in secret, and it was only to old military friends who helped keep her whereabouts unknown. Appleberry had helped on a few occasions, along with a few others Yew didn’t know quite as well, including her own cousin. Magnolia was something akin to a fugitive, and her only crime was having fallen in love. In truth, she wasn’t much different than the celestial princess from the story.

“I’m sorry, Kaguya… I should have realized,” Yew apologized as he embraced Magnolia and held her close. Any advice Ringabel had given was best held off for now, and Yew was starting to wish he had asked for advice on comforting women too.

“I-it’s not your fault, Yew…” Magnolia tried to assure him. “It just… Was a very beautiful story that hit so close to home..”

Removing one arm from Magnolia, Yew rummaged around in the pocket of his nearby pants for the same handkerchief he had given her earlier. Once he found it, he dabbed it on Magnolia’s cheeks to dry her tears. He wasn’t sure what to say to her knowing how sensitive the subject was to her, but he couldn’t leave her like this. It was as Ringabel had said earlier- Yew had to make sure the two of them reach their happy ending. He had to say  _something_.

“I love you,” Yew let slip out without a second thought. He hadn’t meant to say it, but something inside had told him he needed to. Magnolia looked at him and sniffled, placing her hand on top of his as she did so.

“ _Je t’aime aussi, Yew…_  But-“

“But nothing,” Yew interrupted her as he brought her closer. “I love you and will continue to love you through everything. Whether or not your family approves of our love, I won’t let our story end because of them. Not even the heavens, the moon, or a river of stars will keep me from you.”

Yew watched as Magnolia’s lip began to quiver, and a moment later she threw herself onto him. “Oh, Yew!” she exclaimed as she embraced him tightly. She had caught him off guard and they had fallen into their nest of blankets, but Yew still managed to return her embrace.

“I’m never going to let you go, Kaguya… No... Magnolia,” he told her. There was no reason for Magnolia to be held down by her family, and her name was a part of that. “You may have been born Kaguya Archede LaLune, but to me, you’ll always be Magnolia Arch, the love of my life.”

“Kaguya Magnolia Geneolgia,” Magnolia corrected him while giggling. “I still like it when you use my real name, and one day I plan to be your wife.”

“Kaguya Magnolia Geneolgia it is,” he said with a smile. In the back of his mind, Yew could hear Ringabel saying something along the lines of “this is the part where you kiss”, but glancing over at his journal… Yew chose to ignore it. Once he and Magnolia returned home, Yew was sure he would follow it more closely, but for now, Yew wanted to do things on his own terms.

Magnolia let out a happy sigh. “If only they could see us now…” she said as she laid her head on Yew’s chest. “They’d surely be jealous…”

“Who? Ringabel and Edea?” Yew guessed on a whim. To his surprise, Magnolia giggled and shook her head.

“Altair and Vega!” she said before giggling again. “I’m sure they wished they had a romance like ours. Together forever with no interruptions.”

Yew furrowed his brow. “While I’m sure that’s true, they’re like that now, aren’t they? After all we did, they have to be inseparable now,” Yew pointed out. Magnolia giggled once more and let herself relax.

“I guess you’re right,” she admitted before closing her eyes. Without warning, however, she opened them back up and propped herself up on Yew’s chest. “Speaking of Monsieur Ringabel,” she began. “You need to get advice from him more often!”

Yew felt his face heat up and he once again covered it with his hands out of embarrassment. “Is it really that obvious?” he asked his fiancée. He thought he and Ringabel had been sneaky earlier, but it looks like that had failed. Magnolia laughed.

“You can’t hide any of your secrets from me,” she told him before kissing his forehead. Yew moved his hand slightly, and he saw her wink at him before sitting back up.

“I guess not,” Yew said as he sat up to join her. Magnolia leaned against him once more, and Yew placed his arm around her. In front of them, the fire continued to burn, much like their love for each other.

“Why don’t you try out some more of that advice tonight?” Magnolia suggested. “We have quite some time left before bed.”

Immediately, Yew’s thoughts went back to the notes he scratched out, causing his face to scrunch slightly. “I think… We can manage for ourselves for the night,” he told her. With how close they were right now, he felt safe saying they were doing well enough without Ringabel’s help.

“Mmm… I do believe you’re right,” Magnolia said as she closed her eyes. “I think I prefer having a falcon over a peafowl tonight anyway.”

Smiling, Yew let Magnolia rest. She had been through a lot emotionally that night, and she needed the time to recover. He was certain, however, that it had help them grow closer as a couple, and that their happy ending would come soon. Whether or not Yew was good at romance, he still managed to show Magnolia how much he loved her and that he’d continue to do so no matter what. All he had needed was a push in the right direction…

When the time came, Yew would have to thank Ringabel for giving him the push he needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea of Magnolia being Princess Kaguya, and I will die on this hill that I created.
> 
> I honestly don't have much to say about this fic since I posted it in the middle of last year, other than like... Hi Koma, I finally got around to posting it here on AO3. You've already read this before, but since I wrote this in direct response to your fic and it's technically a gift, I would use the gift function.
> 
> Anyway, I love Yewnolia and would die for them.
> 
> That is all.


	2. Snow Bear Season

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an evening out with Yew and Magnolia, Edea and Ringabel promise to have a fireside date where they’ll talk about their feelings. Unfortunately for them, things go a little differently than planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following fic was originally posted to outside sources on 10/08/18. It is being posted here for archival purposes and to help document my progress as a writer.

When it came to Edea and Ringabel’s fireside date, Edea already had everything planned out. The two of them would return to Central Command, where she’d immediately request a plate of brownies and hot chocolate be brought to their room. In the meantime, the two would take a bath together, and by the time they were dry and in pajamas, the brownies and hot chocolate would arrive. Then the two of them would cuddle up next to the fireplace, and Ringabel would tell Edea everything that was on his mind. Maybe they’d kiss a bit too, but only if Ringabel could take a moment to stop flaunting his feathers. **  
**

What she wasn’t planning, however, was for her plans to be derailed by an angry snow bear.

When the two reached Central Command, the sleeve of Ringabel’s jacket was soaked through with blood, and giant claw marks were ripped into his skin. He was clutching his wound tightly, and Edea had to help him keep his balance after losing so much blood. Upon seeing the two enter, the guards immediately called for a white mage, and the gashes in Ringabel’s arm were healed. Ringabel had still lost a lot of blood though, and Edea found herself having to piggyback his mostly dead weight to their room. Once there, she walked over to their bed and dropped him down on it.

“OW!!” Ringabel cried out as his arm hit the soft bed. Even with his wounds healed, the pain and soreness were still very much there. White magic could only do so much for severe wounds.

“What the  _HELL_  did you think you were doing!?” Edea yelled as she turned to look at Ringabel. He was trying to sit himself up, but it was obviously difficult for him after the wounds he had received.

“Well for one, Edea,” Ringabel began while wincing in pain, “I was trying to protect you from getting hurt by a raging snow bear.”

Edea let out an angry snort. “And your idea of protecting me was throwing yourself in front of it like an idiot!?” she asked angrily. Ringabel winced again, this time due to her yelling, but finally managed to sit himself up and take a good look at his arm.

“Well it worked, didn’t it?” Ringabel asked in response, almost as if he was whining at her. “I would very much prefer I lose my sword arm instead of you losing your life.” His fingers twitched as he mentioned his arm, and as he observed the damages he mumbled something to himself about his tattoos needing a bit of touch up.

“Just… Don’t do anything stupid like that again!!!” Edea scolded in frustration. “You’ll be of no use for protecting me if you lose the arm you use to fight!”

Ringabel looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. “And I won’t have anything to protect if you die,” he told her in response, almost bluntly so. No matter what Edea tried to say, it would always come back to the fact he was trying to keep her safe.

He was right though, and she should have been more grateful for it. When the snow bear mother had started charging at her when she accidentally injured its hiding cub, Ringabel had thrown himself in front of her without hesitating and put up his arm to block the mother’s powerful swipe. Before Edea could get a grasp on what happened to Ringabel, she managed to daze it with a quick flash of a light spell, and the two were running off as fast as they could. Though the mother snow bear hadn’t followed, Edea was certain Ringabel had left a trail of blood. The mother, however, was probably too busy caring for her injured cub to have noticed.

“You need rest,” Edea said as she crossed her arms. “You lost a lot of blood, so you’re going to need to take some time to recover.”

Ringabel perked up. “But what about our date by the fire?” he asked. “I was looking forward to it!”

Edea groaned, annoyed by Ringabel’s one track mind. “Do you _really_  think now is a good time to be thinking about that?” Edea asked him. Ringabel frowned in response, looking like a child trying to get a bit of extra pity.

“There’s nothing that says I can’t recover while curled up next to the fire!” Ringabel whined. “If I’m going to be cooped up for a bit, I might as well enjoy myself!”

Edea shook her head. “If you really want to sit by the fire, you’re free to do it on your own- if you can make it over with your injuries, that is,” she told him. “In the meantime, I’m going to take a well-deserved bath.”

Ringabel, unsurprisingly, was not very happy with her response and sighed dramatically. “It’s not a date if I’m the only person!” he continued to whine. “I thought we were supposed to be using this time to talk about our  _feelings_!” He seemed very distressed by the idea of Edea leaving him alone, especially after what they had been through.

Edea gave a blunt response, “I’m sure you can have a date with yourself if you tried hard enough.” As much as she  _wanted_  to have her fireside date with Ringabel, his well-being was far more important to her. She’d rather he stay cooped up in their bed instead of trying to move around, especially with the risk of him hurting himself more.

Defeated, Ringabel threw himself back on the bed, which had been a very poor move on his part, as he immediately grabbed his arm in pain. “Promise me you won’t take too long, please,” he asked of her. “I have a few minor wounds that still need nursing, and I would very much appreciate your help when you get back.”

Edea rolled her eyes at his stupidity, though she admittedly did feel bad for him. “As long as by the time I get back you’re still resting on a mattress, then I’ll help you with the last bit of your injuries,” she promised. Ringabel, delighted by Edea’s potential willingness, began to smile.

“Then I promise not to disappoint!” he told her. Something about the way he spoke made Edea slightly suspicious, but then again, he couldn’t do much in his current state. As much as she didn’t want to, Edea told herself she had no reason to worry.

When it came to her bath, Edea tried to keep it relatively short. With the state he was in now, Ringabel could only be left alone for a small period of time, and he refused to let anybody other than Edea watch him. It was for some dumb, prideful reason- he said Edea was the only person allowed to see him at his weakest- and after the night the two of them had been through, she didn’t want to argue with him about it. She admittedly felt a bit guilty not letting him join her for her bath like she had promised him earlier, but the white mage had told Ringabel no contact with water for 12 hours to ensure the wounds had properly closed. Hopefully that didn’t mean he’d smell like blood the rest of the night.

When Edea got out, she had guessed only twenty minutes had passed. After wrapping herself in a towel, she took a moment to hang up the dress she had been wearing so it wouldn’t get wrinkled. It was a bit of a low cut, but she had chosen it to match with Ringabel that night. She had admittedly left behind a few accessories that went with it to avoid looking gaudy, but it was still a very nice looking dress on its own. Perhaps once Ringabel’s jacket was cleaned and repaired, the two of them could go out with her wearing the full ensemble. She was certain Ringabel would get a kick out of it.

After putting on her fluffiest robe and wrapping her hair in another towel to dry, Edea headed back to her and Ringabel’s room. When she opened the door, she immediately glanced at their bed, where unsurprisingly, Ringabel was nowhere to be found. She figured he’d try to pull something while she was gone, which is why she had cut her bath short by 15 minutes, since Ringabel wouldn’t have expected her to come back early.

“Ah, there you are! I’ve been waiting for you to come back!”

Edea jumped a bit when she heard Ringabel’s voice coming from somewhere in the room. Turning her head towards where his voice had been coming from, Edea found Ringabel exactly where she was expecting he’d be: in front of the fire. What she hadn’t been expecting, however, was the small mattress that he was laying on.

_She knew she should have been more specific._

“Ringabel-“ she tried to begin, but she was rudely interrupted by him as he gestured to the mattress beneath him.

“Resting on a mattress, as promised!” he said triumphantly. “I had some of my trainees bring it in while you were in the bath!”

As Ringabel smiled at her, Edea tried to come up with a response. She was of course annoyed by his quick wit, but he was doing what he promised her to do. Just… Instead of resting on the mattress of  _their bed_ , he was using a spare in front of the fireplace (which probably made it a safety hazard). Nonetheless, Edea made numerous attempts to find a way to tell Ringabel he broke his promise, but each time she opened her mouth, she immediately shut it again. She knew no matter what she said, it would come back to her not being specific enough and that Ringabel had won.

“...you better have at least asked for hot chocolate and brownies,” she grumbled as she walked over. It seemed Ringabel had already pulled out pajamas and underwear for her, and he had changed into his own pajamas as well.

“Of course!” Ringabel exclaimed while beaming. “Three cups of hot chocolate for you, a large cup of coffee for me, and a small plate of brownies to share!”

“Only a small plate!?” Edea began to complain. If she was going to have to deal with Ringabel’s wit the rest of the night, she’d at least want to eat a pile of sweets to make up for it.

“Ah, but don’t worry, my little peahen! I made sure to ask for a few other sweets as well!” Ringabel assured her. “I just didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of you having only hot chocolate and brownies, you know.”

While Edea was relieved to hear he had ordered more sweets, she didn’t see why he’d have a problem with the brownies. “What? Are you really that afraid of me feeding them to you?” she jokingly asked as she sat down next to him. She knew she had mentioned feeding them to him as punishment earlier, but she didn’t think he’d be  _that_  scared of them. They were just brownies.

Ringabel cleared his throat. “Ah, no… It’s nothing like that! It’s just, you know, the incidents with you and the hot chocolate and brownies and such,” he muttered just loud enough for her to hear. It took a minute for Edea to understand what he was getting at, but once she did, her voice went quiet.

“Oh, yeah… Right,” she said without much emotion in her voice. This really wasn’t a subject she was comfortable talking about, and she really wanted to change it. Ringabel seemed to be the same way as well.

“Anyway!” he suddenly interjected. “Everything should be arriving shortly, but until then, you have a promise to keep!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Edea said before scrunching her face up. She was still angry at herself for falling victim to Ringabel’s wit, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. “Just give me a moment to get dressed.”

Once Edea was clothed, she took a moment to rummage around for her notes on advanced white magic. It was a bit difficult, as she had decided to continue wearing her robe and the sleeves sometimes covered things, but after enough searching, she eventually managed to find them. Plopping herself down next to Ringabel, she began sorting through all the different spells and treatment options.

“Alright Mr. Magic User, which of these spells do you think will work the best for your treatment?” Edea asked as she continued to sort through her notes. They were all things Agnès and Yew had told her, as she really wasn’t well-versed in the field, but they should have been sufficient enough. Ringabel, however, began to pout in protest.

“That’s Mr.  _Dark_  Magic User to you, Edea,” he complained. “Though I do have some magical talent, you know it was Agnès who always dealt with white magic! I just stood there looking pretty!”

Edea snorted. “Yeah, all you ever did was flaunt your abs as a thief until you got your armor back,” she joked. “Then you were actually useful!”

Ringabel let out another dramatic gasp. “Why, I was always useful! My pretty face got us a long ways in the end! I charmed so many people and got us much needed info!” he continued to complain, though now it seemed more like mock whining than actual complaining. At least that told Edea he wasn’t taking any of this to heart.

“Well if you want to keep being useful, maybe I shouldn’t bother healing you. I think in your current state, you’ll knock anybody down with a minus strike, even a snow bear trying to crawl in through the window!” she told him before laughing. Without warning, Ringabel threw himself onto Edea and slumped his arms over her shoulders.

“Nooooo,” he began to whine with his normal dramatic flare. “Edea, you promiiiiissed!”

Edea rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, I’ll take care of you,” she said as she nudged Ringabel off her. With his current attitude and willingness to throw himself around, it made it seem like he hadn’t been hurt at all. In fact, if Edea hadn’t been there to witness his injuries, she probably would have guessed he was faking it to get attention from her.

Ringabel smiled. “And that is why you are the best, Edea!” he said as he removed his shirt. As the torn fabric fell onto the mattress, Edea could see the minor wounds he had mentioned. Nothing was bleeding, but there were still some deep puncture marks that needed attending to. Looking at her notes, Edea started to cast the spell she assumed was most appropriate.

“You know, you are far too willing to take your shirt off,” she said as she worked to heal Ringabel’s wounds. She had sounded completely deadpan, causing Ringabel to frown again.

“I thought you liked seeing me shirtless!” he said as he tried to sit still. Edea gave him a look that matched her voice, and it was obvious she wasn’t amused.

“I would prefer it not be after you were mauled viciously by a Snow Bear,” she told him, still deadpan. Ringabel pouted and slumped over as Edea continued to tend to his wounds.

“It wasn’t that vicious! I swear!” Ringabel tried to convince his beloved. “It shouldn’t be enough to stop you from enjoying the view!”

Edea rolled her eyes. “Calm down, Ringabel. It’s not the end of the world just because I have priorities,” she mentioned as she let go of Ringabel’s arm. The wounds he had received weren’t completely gone, but they were looking better. Edea felt triumphant.

“I expect these will join my collection of scars,” Ringabel mused as he checked out his arm. The now treated wounds ran along the length of his arm, and a few marks had made it onto his stomach. On both parts of his body, Edea could see other faint marks making their presence known.

“It’ll add to your appeal when you take off your shirt in the future,” Edea said as she begun to gather her notes. Ringabel looked at her with a raised eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“What happened to your priorities?” he asked bemusedly. “Just moments ago you were acting if me being shirtless was unappealing!”

“Oh, shut up Ringabel,” Edea interrupted before Ringabel could continue. “Now that I’ve healed your wounds, I can say anything I want about you.”

Ringabel began to smirk. “Anything…?” he continued to ask, though now with a sly tone. Edea could tell he was finding enjoyment out of this, which caused her to snort.

“Yeah, like how much of a dumbass you were for thinking you can take down a Snow Bear!” she said as she got up. Ringabel began to pout again, and he dramatically threw himself down across the mattress.

“I protected you with  _my life_ , Edea!” Ringabel whined as he kicked his feet. “Isn’t there anything nice that you can say about me??”

Edea put her notes away and turned her attention back to Ringabel. “You looked nice tonight?” she told him, a bit unsure of herself. Ringabel liked being complimented with how much he acted like a peafowl, but she wasn’t sure if it was the best response. To Edea’s relief, however, Ringabel started to smile.

“Well thank you, Edea! You looked nice as well!” he said as he perked up and placed his chin in his hands. “It was my honor protecting such a beautiful lady from such a dangerous beast tonight, and I would gladly do it again!”

“It was kind of fitting though, don’t you think?” Edea asked as she went and sat back down next to Ringabel. “You told Yew and Magnolia the story about how you were almost crushed by a Snow Bear as a child, and then only a few hours later we happen to run into one.”

Ringabel let out a laugh. “Maybe it’s revenge for me telling the Snow Bear story in the first place!” he joked as he continued to smile. “You were so annoyed with me telling the story that it caused a Snow Bear to sense us!”

Edea laughed as well. “Oh really? Then what about other stories that you tell? Are they going to cause something to happen to us as well?” she continued to ask. Though the two hadn’t technically grown up together, they still shared many of the same childhood memories. There were plenty of other stories Ringabel could tell that would be completely accurate to Edea’s childhood as well. It made bonding with each other easier, even if things weren’t exactly perfect.

Crossing his arms and laying his head down on them, Ringabel thought for a minute. “....well, there was the time I got stuck in a closet while we were playing hide and seek,” he mused. “Does this mean if I tell that one, we’ll get stuck in a closet together?”

Laughing again, Edea lightly bopped Ringabel on the top of the head. “In your dreams, loverboy! You were stuck in there the entire day, and you had even fallen asleep by the time we actually found you!” she pointed out to him. “If anything, that means you’re going to hide in a closet and take a nap to avoid going to a meeting!”

Ringabel grinned. “I guess you’re right!” he admitted. A moment later, there was a knock on the door, and without hesitating, Ringabel stood up to go answer it. “That must be the brownies and hot chocolate!” he said as he headed towards the door. Edea could see he was still in pain by the way he walked, and she knew he really shouldn’t be up in the first place. He must’ve been trying to ignore the pain.

A few minutes later, the two of them were sitting on the mattress with serving trays scattered alongside it. It had turned out Ringabel had ordered much more than just sweets, and trays filled with cakes, mini sandwiches, tea, coffee, and so much more had been brought up to them. He had said it was a result of a miscommunication, but Edea knew it was probably because he didn’t want to be force fed brownies for the next few hours. She wasn’t really sure how much they’d actually be able to eat after such a filling dinner earlier in the evening, but she wasn’t going to let any of the food go to waste.

“See, Edea! We still get to have our date afterall!” Ringabel said as he held up a plate of sandwiches to her. Taking one, Edea took a small bite out of it.

“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that,” she said after swallowing. “This doesn’t mean I’m not going to force you to rest though. After we’re done here, you’re getting in our bed and letting those wounds heal properly.”

“Speaking of bed,” Ringabel began. “Why don’t we take a moment to finish with your hair? It’ll get all knotted if we don’t brush it, and once the fire is out, it might freeze if not fully dried.”

Edea blinked before realizing she still had a towel wrapped around her hair. She had been so distracted by Ringabel she forgot to unwrap it to let it air dry. “Hold on,” she mumbled as she put down her sandwich and got up. Going over to a rack near the door, she unwrapped the towel and hung it to be collected for washing later. Her damp hair stuck to the sides of her face.

“Bring your hairbrush over here and I’ll help you,” Ringabel said as Edea brushed a finger through her hair. It still needed some time to dry, but the fire would help move it along. Grabbing a hairbrush from her nearby vanity, she went over and gave it to Ringabel before sitting in front of him.

“You really don’t have to do this,” Edea said as Ringabel got to work on her damp mess of hair. “You should be resting right now.”

“I don’t mind, Edea! I like brushing your hair. It reminds me of all the times you used to play with my hair as a child,” Ringabel mused.  _Huh_. She had almost forgotten about all the times she made him sit in front of a mirror while she played with his hair. It probably did his appearance more harm than good, but she was having fun.

“Back to childhood stories now, are we? Well, I think I might have one for you,” Edea told Ringabel as she tried to think back. “Do you remember when I found you playing with my father’s sword while you pretended to be a powerful knight?”

Ringabel began to blush. “N-nonsense! I don’t remember that happening!” he said in attempts to defend himself. Edea knew he was lying, however, and began to laugh.

“Oh, really? Well I remember your face clearly when you realized I was watching! You turned so red I thought you were going to burst into tears!” she recalled. Ringabel wasn’t amused as she was though, and had momentarily put the brush down.

“That’s because I  _was_  crying!” he whined. “I thought I was alone, and suddenly you showed up!”

“So you  _do_  remember!” Edea exclaimed in amusement. Ringabel, realizing he had been caught, went back to trying to defend himself.

“W-well, yes, but… I w-was just trying to have fun!” he stuttered in embarrassment. Edea burst into a fit of giggles and snorts, and she leaned back against Ringabel so she wouldn’t roll onto the floor in laughter.

“You were calling out fake attack names, and you had a cape made from a blanket!” Edea recalled as she continued laughing. Ringabel covered his face in embarrassment, but a moment later he began to recall something.

“Didn’t you ask to join me as the princess that needed saving?” Ringabel asked her. Confused, Edea looked up at him.

“Why would I ask that?” she asked in response. “We both know I would never want to be some damsel in distress! Now you’re just making things up!”

“Am I? I swear I recall you running around in a fake paper crown and calling out to me!” he teased as he wrapped his arms around her. Edea could feel her cheeks becoming hot as vague memories came back to her. She realized he was right, but she wasn’t going to admit that.

“L-let’s talk about something else!” she stammered. As much fun as telling stories was, she didn’t want Ringabel to have anything he could hold over her head. It was  _her_  job to embarrass  _him_ , not the other way around!

“Well, now that you mention it…” Ringabel began to ponder. “Aren’t we supposed to be talking about my feelings? That was the point of the date, wasn’t it? To snuggle up next to the fire and discuss how I felt?”

Edea swallowed and composed herself. “Yes, that was the plan we had before it was derailed by a Snow Bear,” she said. A lot had happened on their double date with Yew and Magnolia, and Ringabel had a lot of explaining to do.

“Then let’s do that,” he said as he let go of her and once again grabbed the hairbrush. “I’ll tell you all about my feelings.”

Straightening up, Edea felt Ringabel continue to brush her hair. “So… How do you feel?” she asked as she sat there calmly. The heat in her cheeks was dissipating, and she was glad to be off such an embarrassing topic. Ringabel, meanwhile, already knew what he wanted to say.

“Well for one, I love you,” he told Edea while he worked. “I think that’s the most important part of all this.”

“Well I know that!” Edea snarked in response before becoming a lot more gentle. “You were just acting so weird, earlier, and it just wasn’t like you to be that way.”

Ringabel sighed. “But you see… Sometimes I don’t know how you want me to express my love for you. It seems whenever I try something, you react badly,” he admitted. Edea wasn’t sure what to make of what he was saying, and she was admittedly a bit offended.

“Okay, really? Name one time I reacted badly!” she challenged him. She loved Ringabel, and she couldn’t think of one time she had done such a thing to him! Maybe if he realized he was overthinking things, he would start to feel better and be less mean to Yew. The younger boy really hadn’t done anything wrong.

Ringabel sighed again. “Well, there was the time in Florem I asked you on a date and you said no.”

“Okay, but we were trying to save the world at the time. We had priorities.”

“Then how about just last month when I said we go on a romantic walk and you said we couldn’t?”

“You were trying to get out of a meeting!”

“What about when I declared for my love for you during our first meeting after I developed amnesia?”

“There’s no way that counts!”

“Well, what about me protecting you from a vicious snow bear?”

Edea stopped. Him risking his life for her… He was right. He had risked his life because he had loved her, and in return she had yelled at him for it. He had tried to be cheerful despite it, but she had been harsh in her reactions. She couldn’t help but agree he had at least been right about this one.

“I’m sorry, Ringabel…” she began to apologize. “I was just so worried about the idea of losing you that I didn’t think about how you felt.

Turning Edea around, Ringabel hugged her. “I know, Edea… I know,”’ he told her. “I don’t hold any of this against you.”

“You deserve an apology, though. You deserve a date too. You shouldn’t let me hold you back like this,” she said in response. Letting go of Edea, Ringabel put his hand on her cheek.

“Well, I’m getting my date now, aren’t I? All it took was a bit of quick thinking!” he said with a smile. Edea still felt bad, however, and she placed a hand on top of Ringabel’s.

“You deserve a  _real_  date with just the two of us. No Yew and Magnolia, no Snow Bears, and no putting mattresses in front of fireplaces. Just you, me, and a time we won’t be able to forget,” she told him. She had to make it up to him somehow, and this was the best way she knew how.

“...a real date where we can snuggle by a fire, eat brownies and sandwiches, and talk about stories from our childhood?” Ringabel asked as he perked. Edea smiled and leaned in close.

“Mmm… I was thinking a weekend beach trip to Florem, but that also sounds good,” she told him before pecking him on the nose. Ringabel returned the favor by giving her a kiss on the forehead before putting his own forehead against hers and taking her hands.

“How about we start now?” he asked her with a gentle smile. “I have the perfect story I’d like to tell.”

Edea squeezed Ringabel’s hands tight. “Actually, there’s a story I’d like to tell you first,” she said before closing her eyes. “I think you’ll like it.”

“And what story is that?” Ringabel continued to ask. Slowly, Edea gave him a kiss before pulling back and giving him a loving smile.

_“The story of how I ended up sneaking out and falling asleep with a bunch of Snow Bears when I was a kid…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, since I posted this last year I really don't know what to say???
> 
> I remember not wanting to edit this, but then again, I just take forever to edit everything I write. Even my Octopath fics I just stare and complain about editing for a few hours before actually managing to edit. Man though, this does make me want to write more Bravely fics in my spare time. It's always nice to go back to other things you love, and Bravely definitely has a special place in my heart.
> 
> Anyway, be responsible, children. Don't get yourself hurt by an angry snow bear.


End file.
